Splash Park and Blueberries

We were finally able to fit in a few summer activities here around home this past week. It seems as though we've been gone every other week lately, and I know that before I can blink, summer will be over. Julia starts school on the 13th of August (!), and Lily starts on the 6th of September, so if we want to do any more fun stuff this summer, we'd better get a move on!

On Tuesday of this past week we went to a splash park in Kinston. I really really wish we had something like this in our town, because the girls absolutely loved it! And it was only $2 for the two of them to get in! When we first got there, there were at least 30 other kids with a day care group playing in the water already, but after about 15 minutes they left and Julia and Lily pretty much had the whole park to themselves, except for a couple of other children. If we can work it out, I'd love to take the girls there a few more times before the summer is over.

On Friday, my mom and I left early to go and pick some blueberries (without the girls!). We picked about 12 pounds in about an hour, then came back to pick up the girls and go to the Farmer's Market. We bought some zipper peas (anybody ever heard of those?), some red potatoes, some peaches, and a tomato. So for lunch, we added in some corn and some sauteed squash and onions that I already had at home, and we had ourselves a vegetable plate. And when I say "we," I definitely don't mean Julia and Lily. Maybe one day they'll eat their veggies. For now I'll just keep tricking them with veggie "chicken" nuggets. Which leads me also to say that I feel really old, because I got really excited about all the delicious vegetables we were eating. When I was growing up, I only really liked a few--and I do mean a few--vegetables. Now I like tons of them! So there's hope for Julia and Lily after all, I believe. Oh, I forgot. They did eat the fresh peaches. That counts. And Lily had a couple of helpings of my fresh/frozen corn. What was I thinking?!? They're practically vegetarians.

And just what did we do with the blueberries? We made blueberry jam, double blueberry muffins, and cream cheese blueberry bundt cake. And they ALL turned out deliciously.

Lily helped crush the blueberries to make jam.

Julia helped pick the stems off of some of the blueberries.

Nashville on the Fourth!

I realize that jumping from Easter to July 4th is not quite "keeping up" with my blog, but it's better than jumping from Easter to Christmas, right? Right.

We took a family trip this past week to Nashville to visit my brother and sister-in-law and their adorable daughter, Layla. My mom also went along for the ride. We set up camp (aka 2 queen-sized air mattresses) on Matt and Beth's living room floor and stayed for 3 nights. 

Layla is almost 18 months old now, and boy, has she grown! She can say so many words since we last saw her, and she is so busy! All three of the older Edwards grandchildren are really chatty, and it's easy to see that Layla will follow right in their footsteps. Matt and Beth were both off work for the fourth, so we got to spend all day with them, which was really nice.

For lunch we all met with some of our friends from college and their daughter, also named Lilly. Time really does fly by, but it's so good to be able to reconnect and laugh and hang out with great friends. We planned to eat at Bread & Company in Green Hills, but it was closed for the holiday. We tried Zoe's Kitchen instead, and it was really good! Afterwards we drove over to Opry Mills (It takes forever to drive anywhere in Nashville, by the way!) and did some shopping. The girls got to ride on the carousel and play on the indoor playground and ride on one of those outrageously expensive mall stroller things, so they were set.

We also got to meet up with Beth and Jeremy and Brooklyn later on in the afternoon for supper and for our annual tradition of watching the fireworks together. It is always SO GOOD to see them and spend time with them! Julia and Lily hadn't seen Brooklyn since she moved away, so it was really sweet to watch them as they reunited with each other and laughed together. 

Downtown Nashville was crowded and hot and crowded and hot, but if I had the chance to do it all over again, I would. We got to our place on the ground about an hour before the fireworks started, but there were concerts going on onstage in front of us, so the girls enjoyed dancing and being silly, and we enjoyed laughing at/with them. When it was time for the fireworks, the Nashville Symphony took the stage and played as a "soundtrack" to the fireworks. It was incredible! (It was also really hot and crowded outside, did I already mention that?) We got back to Matt and Beth's house around 11:30 pm. (Did I also already mention that it takes FOREVER to drive anywhere in Nashville?!? I am so spoiled with my small town!)

On our last day in Nashville, we ate lunch with the Thomas's at Bread & Company (yay! I've decided that it's my favorite.), then went back to Opry Mills, where the girls got to ride the carousel again and play on the playground again and ride one of those stroller things again. They were happy. Until they got tired. Then everything came unglued. We said goodbye to our friends, then headed for the car. But not before we stopped at the GiGi's cupcake kiosk and the Sweet CeCe's kiosk. Man! I love vacations!

We ended our trip with pizza and dessert back at Matt and Beth's house with Beth and Jeremy and Brooklyn, where we all just hung out and laughed and talked together. We drove the whole way back to NC on Friday and got back into town around 11:30 pm.

So now we're home for a while. Well, for a little while. Next up: our church youth group trip to Washington, DC.